Outdoor frost free sillcock question/issue

Hello...1 question and one issue...first off, for a 1/2" frost free sillcock that has an 8" length that runs through the concrete foundation of a raised ranch home and terminates to the copper pipe connection just before (roughly 2") it gets inside the house, would you recommend some sort of outdoor covering for the sillcock (like one of those insulated faucet sleeves) or would leaving it exposed for the winter be OK (I live in NYS so the temps do get down to 0 during the middle of winter).
Now is issue...I replaced the old outdoor faucet 3 years ago with a Mueller frost free sillcock (1/2"x8") and have already gone though 2 stems. One time water would not come out of the faucet..the other time the water was free flowing out of the spout. The last stem replacement was 3 weeks ago...this morning I went outside and noticed some dripping coming from the spout. I tightened the packing nut a little and it stopped but it had been leak tight for 3 weeks prior to that with no needed tightening. I'm wondering if I have an issue with this new stem now or is some post installation tightening of that packing nut somewhat common? The sillcock does have a downward pitch so I wouldn't think water is being held up in the pipe somewhere. Thanks in advance.

 

Is there a hose connected ? Temp can expand and contract seal. Might of caused leak.

 

No hose was connected..the only thing was an insulated cover that was positioned over the faucet, and to be honest that was why I was wondering if such a cover was recommended and if it was doing more harm than good. Thanks for the reply

 

FWIW, I don't put anything over my frost-free sillcocks. However, I have shutoff valves in the basement on both the pipes going to my outdoor faucets (one in front, one in back of house). I always turn off the water to the sillcocks for the winter so I don't have to worry about any potential leaking. I bring hoses inside in the Fall, so outdoor faucets don't have a hose connected during winter.

 

There is a shutoff in the drop ceiling that would shut the water off to the faucet, but I believe it was designed more for faucet repairs than long term shut off, as the pipe beyond that shut off also controls the water to the washing machine (and there are normal hot/cold shut off valves where the water lines hook into the washer so technically I have a double shut off for the washer). The pipe is tee'd off right where there is the run of pipe to the outdoor faucet and there is only about I'd say 6" between the tee and where an elbow is installed to the faucet, so I'm not sure I have enough room to replumb after the tee? I'd almost have to rip out that run of pipe and the tee and separate the 2 water lines to give each of them a shut off.

 

I am considering leaving the cover off now (I read the temperature where the pipe connects to the faucet in the foundation on one of our cold single digit nights and it was reading 45 degrees so I don't think I have a freezing problem there (to my knowledge). I did leave the access door to the pipe open to ensure warm air was going to the assembly but of course this was all before today's leak so I'm crossing my fingers that it wasn't anything beyond the packing nut perhaps needing a little more tightening.

 

I think you're okay without the cover, actually I'm not sure that the cover is really doing anything with a frost-free sillcock. The concept behind the frost-free sillcock is that the actual valve mechanism is far enough behind the hose bib (8" in your case) so that the valve is inside the basement and isn't exposed to the frigid outdoor air. Unless your basement where your plumbing resides gets below freezing (and you would have major problems if it did), your frost-free sillcock should be fine. Since the actual valve is inside the house, all the cover is doing is trying to keep the hose bib warm.

 

I appreciate the advice, Bob. Thanks!